Wednesday, February 19, 2014

SIH’s Think On These Things: Proverbs 21:10-14

10) The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no
favour in his eyes.

11) When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the
wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

12) The righteous [man]
wisely considereth the house of the wicked: [but God] overthroweth the wicked for [their] wickedness.

13) Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard.

14) A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong
wrath.

Solomon
continues to emphasize the end result of sin in our lives…. misery

EXPOSITION:

10) The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no
favour in his eyes.

1.The life of those who are immoral and corrupt
long for and pursue wickedness as a lifestyle

2.The wicked man’s lifestyle of pursuing
wickedness will eventually harm his neighbours.This causes his neighbours to see him as undesirable, unkind and
unwanted.

A
lifestyle that pursues sin will cause others to look upon us as hateful,
merciless and harmful.

“Thy tongue deviseth
mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.Thou lovest evil more than
good; [and] lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.Thou lovest all devouring
words, O [thou] deceitful tongue.God shall likewise destroy
thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of [thy] dwelling
place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.”(Psalms 52:2-5)

11) When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the
wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

1.When those who mock the truth face a penalty,
those who are naive will learn to take God’s truth seriously.

2.When those who are wise are taught the truth,
they will hear it, acknowledge it, and cling to it.

The
proclamation of truth affects both the wise and the foolish.When rejected, it results in judgment; when
accepted, it results in enhanced knowledge, this leads to greter understanding
and, when applied, results in increased wisdom.

“But God shall shoot at
them [with] an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.So they shall make their
own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.And all men shall fear,
and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.The righteous shall be
glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall
glory.”(Psalms 64:7-10)

12) The righteous [man]
wisely considereth the house of the wicked: [but God] overthroweth the wicked for [their] wickedness.

1.Those whose life is lived in a God pleasing
way, will be guided by the Word, as they are reflect on the plight of the wicked.

2.In
comparison to the righteous’ attitude concerning the wicked, God will dominate
and ruin the wicked because of their rebellious lifestyle.

This
is implying that when the righteous consider the spiritual blindness of the
wicked, and the eternal judgment that awaits the wicked, the righteous will
show mercy and compassion towards the wicked. They will not seek personal judgment against
the wicked, but will rely upon the Lord to judge the wicked.

“Wait on the LORD, and keep
his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut
off, thou shalt see [it].I have seen the wicked in
great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.Yet he passed away, and,
lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.Mark the perfect [man],
and behold the upright: for the end of [that] man [is] peace.But the transgressors
shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.”(Psalms 37:34-38)

13) Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard.

1.He who refuses to hear the pleas for help
from those who are in need

2.When he is in need will find his pleas
ignored as well.

When
a man, being driven by his selfishness, refuses to help those in need, they
will not find help when their time of need arises.

“Then said one unto him,
Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,Strive to enter in at the
strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be
able.When once the master of
the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand
without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he
shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:Then shall ye begin to
say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our
streets.But he shall say, I tell
you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all [ye] workers of
iniquity.There shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the
prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you [yourselves] thrust out.”(Luke 13:23-28)

14) A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong
wrath.

1.When two parties disagree, a gift, when it is
not given publicly, will cause anger to cease.

2.A bribe, when it is given in an intimate way,
will cause exceeding hot anger to be brought to peace.

It
is an act of wisdom to attempt to appease an opponent’s anger by acts of
kindness and grace on their behalf.This
includes “gifts” of any type whether it be kind and gracious, attitudes, words,
acts or literal gifts given to them in secret.

(When
a gift is given publicly, the opposition will feel public pressure to not cease
from their anger.If they do cease from
anger, the public will accuse them of be selfish, unprincipled and weak.That is why the need for secrecy is stressed in
this proverb.)

“Many will intreat the
favour of the prince: and every man [is] a friend to him that giveth gifts.”(Proverbs 19:6)

“If thine enemy be hungry,
give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:For thou shalt heap coals
of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.”(Proverbs 25:21-22)

SUMMARY:

The
miseries that come from sin our lives include:

1.When we are lax in our spiritual
responsibilities, we can expect to face spiritual loss and discontentment.

2.Anyone seeking earthly riches through the use
of deceit, is pursuing that which will bring loss and ruin to himself.

3.When the wicked choose to ignore the
testimony of their conscience, they will be brought to ruin and uselessness.

4.The nature of the wicked leads them to
perform acts that are detested by God and man.

5.An argumentative, critical attitude hinders
intimacy with others by taking away joy and other benefits of fellowship and
intimacy.

6.
A lifestyle that pursues sin will cause
others to look upon us as hateful, merciless and harmful.

7.When truth is rejected, it results in
judgment at the hands of the Lord, the Author of all truth.

8.God will dominate and ruin the wicked because
of their rebellious lifestyle.

9.He who refuses to hear the pleas for help
from those who are in need, will find his pleas for help ignored.

10.
Anger, when not treated with an attitude of grace, will allow anger and a hot,
flaring temper to continue.

By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.

May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.

About Me

A retired pastor, Bible teacher and author of 20 years, he is currently ministering through Settled In Heaven Ministries. SIH Ministries is an on-line Bible teaching ministry that was founded by Bro Barkman in 2010.